Collison returns to West Ham

JACK COLLISON has returned to West Ham United as an Academy coach - three years after leaving the club as a player.

The former midfielder made his first-team debut for the Hammers at the age of 19 and was tipped for big things. However, a persistent knee injury blighted his career and forced him to leave Upton Park in 2014.

He retired as a player last February, at the age of just 28, and had been working as an Under-18s coach at Peterborough, where he started his career. The ex-Wales international, who made 121 appearances for the Hammers, will be lead Under-14 and Under-16 coach at the club.

“At the age of 16 I arrived at the club [West Ham] as a boy with a dream,” Collison said. “At 25 I left a man, having lived that dream and experienced every emotion you could ever imagine. At 28, I will now give my all to help the next generation with the same dream I had."

Meanwhile, Peterborough's Head of Sports Science and Medicine, Rob Rowland, has left to work with Swansea's Academy.